The Hindu : Tamil Nadu News : More junctions to come under camera watch Law & order

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Saturday, May 24, 2008
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Tamil Nadu

Tamil Nadu

More junctions to come under camera watch Law & order

Offences have come down thanks to the surveillance cameras,
says R. Rajaram

— PHOTO: M. Moorthy

LOOK WHO’S WATCHING: A dome camera installed in front of the Corporation in Tiruchi.

More thoroughfares in the city will come under round-the-clock monitoring in the near future with the city police planning to install surveillance cameras at vital road junctions to check rule violations by road-users.

Courtesy Rs. 2.98 crore sanctioned by the State Government, the law enforcing authorities have decided to bring 11 more junctions under constant surveillance by installing the ‘Pan Tilt Zoom’ (PTZ) cameras and the highly advanced Automatic Number Plate Readers (ANPR) – all under the Traffic Regulatory Management System. The fund has been provided by the government for modernisation of police force.

Technology-oriented policing initiative started last year when the city police initially installed a dome camera at Head Post Office Junction and later extended it to TVS Tollgate, Puthur Four Road and Kohinoor Theatre Junctions. The cameras installed at the four junctions are connected to the fully air-conditioned computerised modern police control from where the round-the-clock monitoring is being done.

Police authorities say that PTZ cameras will now be installed at important junctions including Vestry Roundabout, Main Guard Gate, Main Guard Arch, Mannarpuram Junction, Viralimalai Road Junction, Mambazha Salai, Zonal Point and Thillai Nagar South Arch.

In addition to installing the PTZ cameras, the city police have also decided install ANPR, a highly sophisticated camera to identify the registration number of vehicles at the above junctions. In all, 37 ANPRs are to be installed at various junctions in the city.

The cameras and ANPRs to be installed at the new junctions would be linked to the modern police control room for effective monitoring of vehicular movement and to check violations by the vehicle users, say the authorities.

The vehicular movements could also be monitored from the master terminal installed in the chamber of the Commissioner of Police. Tenders would be called in the coming months after which the installation works would commence.

Once the surveillance cameras and the ANPRs are installed, most of the busy junctions in the city would be brought under surveillance, say police officials. The installation of surveillance cameras would be of definite help to the law enforcers in better traffic management and in checking road rule violations, says Commissioner of Police Pramod Kumar.

The installation of PTZ and static cameras at the Central Bus stand last year has led to a decrease in offences such as baggage lifting and chain snatching ever since, say police officials. With the recent expansion of the bus stand, the cameras have been repositioned to cover new areas and outer sides of the bus stand.

With the Rs. 20 lakh fund sanctioned under the Road Safety Fund for the current year, the city police have planned to install automatic signals at Rajaram Salai – LIC Colony Junction and Karur By Pass Road besides installing cats eye and blinkers.

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